The Obstacle is the way

The Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, said, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way”.
Marcus was a great Roman Emperor who ruled in Rome from 161 to 180 AD. He is also well known as a Stoic philosopher. Marcus Aurelius never claimed to be a Stoic. But he lived the Stoic life. He kept a journal of his life, which was later published as one of the profound and important books ever written, Meditation. There are 12 volumes of books; those were the words of wisdom, and the books were never intended to be published. They were all self-reflections, words of wisdom to oneself. On the fifth book, paragraph 20, he wrote The impediment to action advances action, what stands in the way becomes the way. The phrase encourages a mindset where challenges are integrated into one's progress, rather than being seen as roadblocks to be avoided. The obstacle itself can offer a new path or method to move forward.

Recently, I have been reading (not a lot) Stoicism. The two thousand years old wisdom is still relevant to the modern world to its core. Marcus Aurelius, being the most powerful man of his time, had to face obstacles in every step of his life. He ruled during the pandemic, which killed an estimated 10 to 18 million people. His own commander in chief tried to out throw him. He spent more than 12 years in the war, and the most painful was to witness the death of eight of his children. With the unimaginable pain and sorrows, he lived an exemplary life. He never let the grievances take over his act to a good deeds.

The obstacles are not to prevent us but to make us stronger to overcome. The world is testing us - continuously. Simply changing the perspective on the obstacle will make a lot of difference. Anticipating the difficulty is half the solution. We will not be surprised. Accepting the fact that "the obstacle is the way" will change the fear to fuel. And we see this as opportunity makes all the difference.

“In life, it doesn’t matter what happens to you or where you came from. It matters what you do with what happens and what you’ve been given. And the only way you’ll do something spectacular is by using it all to your advantage.”

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